Political Implications in Chinese Studies in Bengal 1800-1823

Summary

This article investigates the political context of early Chinese studies in Bengal during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Christian missionaries based in Serampore, such as Joshua Marshman, William Carey and Lassar (an Armenian missionary), pioneered the study and translation of Chinese texts into Bengali and English. Their efforts were intertwined with British imperial policy. When Lord Wellesley governed India he adopted a relatively liberal stance toward missionaries, permitting the publication of religious and linguistic works. However, after the Vellore Mutiny the East India Company became wary of missionary activities that might provoke unrest. In 1806 Lord Minto replaced Wellesley as governor‑general and issued orders requiring missionaries to confine their preaching to Serampore and prohibiting the distribution of Christian literature among “natives” without government permission. These restrictions curtailed evangelical activities but did not end Chinese studies. Marshman and his colleagues shifted their focus to secular pursuits such as compiling dictionaries and grammars of Chinese. They received moral support from influential officials; Lord Minto encouraged the study of oriental languages, and James Mackintosh and others saw value in knowledge of China for trade and diplomacy. The article explains how Marshman’s Clavis Sinica and Chinese Bible translation, though produced under constraints, laid the foundation for sinology in India. It also highlights the role of Lassar and Malayali printers in typesetting Chinese characters. Furthermore, the article notes that the East India Company used Chinese studies strategically. Knowledge of Chinese language was deemed useful for navigating trade with Canton and dealing with Qing officials. By the 1820s the pressure of the Napoleonic Wars and concerns about Russia’s eastward expansion led British authorities to support sinological research despite earlier restrictions. The article concludes that Chinese studies in Bengal were shaped by both missionary zeal and colonial politics; the interplay between evangelism and imperial policy produced a unique form of “scholarly evangelism” that contributed to the early development of sinology in India.